World Some refugees in Serbia fear government help

16:21 19 june 2017

16:21 19 june 2017 Source:
USA TODAY

1,000 migrants rescued in Mediterranean; 2 dead

Two migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday during a rescue operation that saved more than 1,000 others who were attempting the dangerous crossing to Europe, according to a Spanish aid group.Laura Lanuza, spokeswoman for Spain's Proactiva Open Arms, said that while two migrants perished in international waters off the Libyan coast, the Spanish aid group and five other humanitarian organizations saved 1,058 migrants after intercepting several smugglers' boats.Lanuza said that in addition to the t deaths, another two migrants were in critical condition.

A 14-year old unaccompanied minor, a migrant from Afghanistan, showers near an old train car where he and other migrants took refuge in Belgrade, Serbia , in this file photo from Feb. 11, 2017. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen, AP). CONNECTTWEET LINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE.

Hundreds of refugees living in poor conditions in the Serbian capital are refusing to go into official camps, fearing it will lead to their deportation. At the same time, the Serbian government has told charities and other help groups that they cannot operate in the refugee camps.

BELGRADE, Serbia — In recent months, Serbian authorities have tried to provide shelter, food and medical care to thousands of refugees from the Middle East, Asia and Africa camping within its borders.

But the newcomers don't want any of it.

This country is quickly becoming the Calais of the Balkans, a reference to the northern French city where refugees live in limbo while awaiting either deportation, asylum or continuing their journeys in hope of landing in a more welcoming European country.

“I tried to leave Serbia 17 times,” said Jawad Afzali, 17, an Afghan who has lived for the past six months with 1,500 other Afghan, Iraqi and Pakistani migrants in abandoned warehouses and a tent village that sprung up behind the bus station.

EU warns 3 countries of legal action over refugee plan

The European Union warned the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland on Tuesday that they have 24 hours to start taking in refugees.But the three countries immediately rebuffed the threat and appeared ready to go to court.

For weeks, thousands of refugees and migrants have faced freezing temperatures in Serbia . Some have tried to request asylum but have been refused, while others carry expulsion papers. The government has prohibited all humanitarian organizations from helping them in any way.

BELGRADE, 7 April 2016 – The Japanese company UNIQLO, as UNICEF’s global partner, has provided a total of 6,500 pieces of clothing to help refugee and migrant children in Serbia , some of which were distributed during the winter months.

“Every time, they bring me back here," he added. "Two days ago, I tried to enter Croatia. Now I’m here again.”

Afzali is one of 7,000 refugees stuck in Serbia since the European migrant crisis erupted two years ago in this economically struggling country, and his situation underscores the clash between policy and reality for the migrants.

Bulgaria, Hungary and other European Union members that border Serbia, which is not part of the 28-nation alliance, have closed their borders to refugees seeking to escape war and economic stagnation in Syria and elsewhere. They want to move to Germany, Britain and other wealthy European countries in the north.

Some of those countries adamantly refuse to take them. The European Commission said last week it would file suit against Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic for failing to take their share of refugees as part of the 2015 plan to distribute 160,000 migrants stuck in limbo in Italy and Greece across the European Union. Other countries such as Sweden and Germany are tightening restrictions for asylum and increasing deportations.

Serbia to have first gay prime minister

Ana Brnabic will also be the country's first woman prime minister in a sign of increasing tolerance.The president of Serbia has nominated a gay woman to be his prime minister in a double first for the deeply conservative Balkan state.

"This fear [of deportation] is completely groundless," Ivan Miskovic, a spokesman for Serbia 's Commissioner for Refugees (KIRS), said in a phone interview, calling deportation The U.N. says all migrant reception centers in Serbia are "now fully occupied, some more than double their capacity."

In Serbia , hundreds were rounded up and moved back to the border with Macedonia. At the same time, the Serbian government has told charities and other help groups that they cannot operate in the refugee camps.

Meanwhile, more migrants continue to arrive, mainly to Italy and Greece: 75,000 made the sea crossing since January, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

In Serbia, around 6,000 refugees are in official asylum reception centers that provide education and other services, according to Nenad Ivanisevic, the state secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Issues. But he said some refugees aren't interested in going to the centers.

“Serbia is ready to accept a certain number of people and could offer them a full support for their integration into Serbian society, but the refugees don’t want that,’’ Ivanisevic said. He said Serbia is seeking more international funding for refugee programs, in addition to the $55 million the EU has already given.

Others said refugees fear they won’t be able to leave the centers. In most European countries, refugees usually must stay in the country where they initially arrived. As a result, a common practice since 2015 is for refugees to avoid registering or providing fingerprints so they can reach their desired country in Europe and won't be ordered to return to the nation where they first arrived.

Serbia to have first gay prime minister

Ana Brnabic will also be the country's first woman prime minister in a sign of increasing tolerance.The president of Serbia has nominated a gay woman to be his prime minister in a double first for the deeply conservative Balkan state.

More powerful EU nations, like Britain and Germany, have only just started to open their borders to refugees in recent weeks, and some fear their Serbia ’s population has decreased by 5% over the past nine years. Alarmed by these numbers, the Serbian government has offered free health

Hundreds of refugees living in poor conditions in the Serbian capital are refusing to go into official camps, fearing it will lead to their deportation. At the same time, the Serbian government has told charities and other help groups that they cannot operate in the refugee camps.

That puts migrants in a Catch-22, said Kais Ayoubi of the Real Medicine Foundation, a U.S.-based charity that provides health care to refugees in Serbia.

“The situation here is awful,” Ayoubi said. Migrants lack clean running water, toilets or electricity — and they burn garbage and tires to keep warm in the winter, harming their lungs, he said. “These people didn’t want to register with the authorities, therefore they don’t get help from the state."

The political climate doesn't help. In April, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic won the Serbian presidential election with 55% of the vote. He has pledged not to build a wall or close Serbia’s borders, like Hungary, but he also repeatedly vowed not to let the country become a “parking lot for illegal immigrants.”

In May, the government began to empty the abandoned warehouses behind Belgrade's bus station and relocate refugees to official asylum centers across the country. The makeshift camp had become a focal point for people smugglers and a health hazard, so the migrants will get better protection in the asylum centers, the government added.

Many refugees are concerned they will be locked in the asylum centers with limited freedom of movement — and won't be able to get out.

Furman Ali, 25, a Pakistani who wants to go to Italy, said the fear of being moved, added to worries of being deported, is setting everyone on edge.

“We don’t sleep at night because we don’t know when police will come and take us away,” said Ali, who has been living in the camp behind the bus station since January. “People fight every day. Sometimes every 10 minutes, sometimes for no reason.”

Afzali just hopes he can get out of both the camp and the country.

He and his cousin want to go to London, where his brother lives. But Croatian authorities keep catching him when he attempts to exit the country. He’s now planning on trying to cross the Romanian border before heading to Britain.

“I am (of the age) when I should get education,” he said. “I cannot get that here.”

Number of refugees admitted in US drops by 50 percent under Trump .
The number of refugees who entered the U.S. during President Trump’s first three months compared to the last months of President Obama’s term was cut nearly in half, according to statistics released Friday by the Department of Homeland Security. According to the statistics, a total of 13,000 refugees were admitted to the U.S. in the past three months, compared to 25,000 under Obama, The Los Angeles Times reported. The most popular countries of origins remained the same: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Myanmar.Obama set the ceiling of 110,000 refugee arrivals across the U.S.

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A 14-year old unaccompanied minor, a migrant from Afghanistan, showers near an old train car where he and other migrants took refuge in Belgrade, Serbia , in this file photo from Feb. 11, 2017. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen, AP). CONNECTTWEET LINKEDINCOMMENTEMAILMORE.

Hundreds of refugees living in poor conditions in the Serbian capital are refusing to go into official camps, fearing it will lead to their deportation. At the same time, the Serbian government has told charities and other help groups that they cannot operate in the refugee camps.

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"This fear [of deportation] is completely groundless," Ivan Miskovic, a spokesman for Serbia 's Commissioner for Refugees (KIRS), said in a phone interview, calling deportation The U.N. says all migrant reception centers in Serbia are "now fully occupied, some more than double their capacity."

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More powerful EU nations, like Britain and Germany, have only just started to open their borders to refugees in recent weeks, and some fear their Serbia ’s population has decreased by 5% over the past nine years. Alarmed by these numbers, the Serbian government has offered free health

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